24: Chapter 24: Victory through both orthodox and unorthodox methods!

"Rumble—!"

Every stomp of the Abyss Skeleton Giant Rhinoceros caused violent earthquakes across the entire Skeleton Wasteland.

An early Tier-2 Lord-class monster, even with just a simple and brutal charge, carried kinetic energy akin to a moving mountain!

"Xuanwu, hold the line!"

Leader Yan Er's eyes widened. He leapt to the very front of the array, unreservedly pouring his majestic late Tier-1 true qi into the ground.

Three thousand armored soldiers roared in unison, shaking heaven and earth. Between the gaps of the Dark Gold Tower Shields, the white true qi protective barrier was pushed to its absolute limit, resembling a physical city wall!

In the next second...

The giant rhinoceros's incredibly sharp spiral horn slammed violently into the front of the Xuanwu Array!

"Clang—!!!"

A tooth-gritting metallic crash exploded in the air above the examination grounds.

The dozens of heavy shield-bearers in the front row, despite having the array distribute the force, were still shaken to the point of vomiting blood by this inhuman, monstrous strength.

The heavy Dark Gold Tower Shields were forced back several meters, plowing two deep ruts into the hard wasteland!

"Sizzle, sizzle, sizzle—"

Having failed with its strike, the giant rhinoceros violently snorted a large cloud of deep green, corrosive acid mist from its hollow nasal cavity.

The acid mist landed on the shields and armor of the front-row soldiers, immediately giving off bursts of white smoke and making a harsh, corroding sound.

Although the Wujin material had extremely high resistance, the soldiers' stamina was draining rapidly.

There was an insurmountable chasm between Tier-1 and Tier-2.

Facing a monster of this level, although the Xuanwu Heavy Armor Killing Array could barely hold it off, Leader Yan Er and his men had more than enough defense but a severe lack of offense.

The Tier-1 spears stabbed at the giant rhinoceros's thick, pitch-black bone plates, only kicking up a shower of sparks, leaving them with absolutely no opportunity to counterattack.

On the Star-Observing Platform, everyone's heart leaped into their throats.

"They blocked the first wave of impact! But this is useless; Tier-1 attacks can't break through the bone armor of a Tier-2 giant rhinoceros at all!"

"Lin Yunfei's array leans toward defense. Facing this kind of heavy monster, it's only a matter of time before they are worn down to death."

Major General Lu Shuang of the Interstellar Expeditionary Army was also staring intently at the screen, his brow slightly furrowed.

He wanted to see how this young man, who had brought him such surprises, would cope when faced with this kind of crisis.

Inside the Skeleton Wasteland.

Lin Yunfei sat upright on his chariot, having already made up his mind!

"As the military treatise says, 'Engage with the orthodox, win with the extraordinary.' It's time to win by surprise!"

Lin Yunfei slowly stood up. The majestic will of the Creator instantly descended upon his divine kingdom, directly connecting to the Far North Ice Field at the northernmost end of the kingdom.

"Yan San!"

"Don't you long for slaughter? Don't you long to temper yourself on the edge of life and death?"

"Now, I give you this chance! Come out and tear it to shreds!"

Along with the issuance of Lin Yunfei's divine oracle, a blinding light of teleportation suddenly flared up in the void on the right side of the battlefield!

"Whoosh!!!"

A bone-chilling icy storm, mingled with intense killing intent, surged wildly out of the teleportation array.

Immediately after, hundreds of beast-like figures charged into the battlefield with a roar!

The leader was draped in a tattered Dark Ice Snow Camel pelt, carrying a broad, nicked heavy sword in his hand. His body was covered in crisscrossing scars, and his eyes gleamed with a chilling madness and bloodlust.

It was none other than the exiled leader of the radical faction, Yan San!

In the cruel, desperate environment of the Far North Ice Field, there was no comfortable spiritual rice, nor were there sturdy city walls. Yan San and his followers engaged in close-quarters hand-to-hand combat with mutated beasts in the wind and snow every single day.

For the sake of survival, they completely abandoned defense, evolving the "Primary Qi Gathering Art" into an extremely violent killing technique that possessed overwhelming offensive power but lacked any defense!

Though Yan San's current realm was still only at the peak of mid-Tier 1, the dangerous aura radiating from his entire body made even Leader Yan Er, a late Tier-1, feel a sense of dread!

"Hahaha! The Main God has not forgotten us!"

Yan San laughed wildly, pointing his heavy sword straight at the Tier-2 giant rhinoceros that was preparing to charge once more.

"Brothers, the Main God is watching us! Kill!"

"Kill!!!"

Hundreds of Ice Field Berserkers, like hungry wolves released from their cages, launched a reckless charge from the giant rhinoceros's flank.

At the front, Leader Yan Er understood immediately upon seeing this.

"Xuanwu Raises Its Head, bite down on it tightly!"

Leader Yan Er roared, and the three thousand armored soldiers instantly changed their formation. The tower shields that were originally for defense suddenly closed forward.

They forcefully wedged the giant rhinoceros's massive bony skull and forelimbs. No matter how the giant rhinoceros struggled, the great array pinned it down firmly like a swamp!

With the giant rhinoceros's movements restricted, its flank was completely exposed.

"Break for me!"

Using the momentum of his wild run, Yan San stepped heavily on a berserker's shoulder, leaping high into the air like a cannonball.

The true qi inside his body was like boiling lava, completely poured into the Refined Iron Heavy Sword in his hands.

The blade was actually coated with a layer of frosty chill he had comprehended in the ice field, and he slashed it viciously toward a gap in the bone plates on the giant rhinoceros's neck!

Crack!!!

A crisp sound of shattering rang out.

Under the distraction of Leader Yan Er's main force, Yan San's long-premeditated strike violently shattered the Tier-2 giant rhinoceros's defensive bone plate!

The sharp heavy sword sank deep along the gap. Since the Abyss Skeleton Giant Rhinoceros had no flesh and blood at all, this strike did not cause any blood to splatter. However, the violent frost true qi poured madly into the crack, directly freezing the surging Abyssal Black Energy inside the giant rhinoceros's bones!

A large number of Ice Field Berserkers also took the opportunity to pounce, unleashing their attacks frantically through the breached gap.

"Roar!!!"

The Tier-2 Skeleton Giant Rhinoceros let out an angry and shrill roar. A large amount of Abyssal Black Energy dissipated from the cracks in its bone plates.

Leader Yan Er had plenty of defense but lacked offense; Yan San had plenty of offense but lacked defense.

But when these two forces were perfectly combined under the coordination of the Main God, they erupted with an astounding effect where one plus one was far greater than two!

On the high platform, High Priest Xi watched this scene on the battlefield, his eyes suddenly bursting with an unprecedentedly bright light.

He stared intently at Leader Yan Er's rock-solid shield formation, then looked at Yan San's demonic flanking maneuver, muttering to himself:

"Engage with the orthodox, win with the extraordinary. This is indeed the essence of formations!"

Xi's hands could not help but tremble within his sleeves, and his brilliant mind had already begun to think rapidly.

If this concept of "mutual support between the orthodox and the extraordinary" could be thoroughly integrated into the Xuanwu Great Array in the future, the human race's formations would surely welcome a true sublimation!

On the battlefield.

The Tier-2 giant rhinoceros violently shook its massive bony body, throwing Yan San back, along with his sword, by more than a dozen steps.

Its pair of crimson soul-fire eyes stared fixedly at these ants. Although it felt no pain, the loss of its origin source made it feel a trace of fear.

"Thud, thud, thud!"

The giant rhinoceros no longer had the courage to continue the struggle. Its massive body suddenly turned around, and like a runaway train, it crashed through several bone wolves blocking its way, retreating and fleeing frantically into the depths of the mist.

"Trying to run?!"

Yan San's eyes were bloodshot, the battle intent within his body completely ignited.

Tier-1 slaying Tier-2! This was a supreme glory worthy of being recorded in the annals of the human race!

Just as he was about to order the people behind him to pursue at full speed,

"Stop!"

Right at that moment, Lin Yunfei's cold and unquestionable voice, like a bucket of cold water, instantly extinguished Yan San's impulse.

"All forces fall back, maintain formation! Do not pursue a cornered enemy!"

Hearing the Main God's command, although Yan San was extremely unwilling, the obedience etched into his bones still made him stop his steps immediately.

On his chariot, Lin Yunfei quietly watched the giant rhinoceros disappear into the mist, slowly sheathing the half-drawn longsword back into its scabbard.

Kill a Tier-2 giant rhinoceros? Of course he could.

With Leader Yan Er holding the front and Yan San acting as the sharp blade in the rear, if they fought to the death, this Bone Rhinoceros would absolutely not walk out of the Skeleton Wasteland alive.

But at what cost?

Even a cornered beast would fight. The final counterattack of a Tier-2 giant beast before its death would cost him the lives of at least several hundred of his elite armored soldiers!

The deeper reason was that the tree that stands out in the forest will be destroyed by the wind.

A commoner student relying on an outstanding array to hold off a Tier-2 monster was called a genius.

But if a commoner student used Tier-1 units to forcefully slay a Tier-2 Abyss Lord, that would be called a monster! It might even make people suspect that he possessed some unspeakable, heaven-defying treasure!

Before growing into a chess player capable of overturning the entire board, standing out too much...

...would only attract the malicious covetousness of those ancient financial magnates and sea-of-stars giants. This was the dangerous Abyss, after all, and preserving strength was the top priority.

"As long as I can get enough points to enter the top ten and obtain the rewards, that's enough!"

In this world, before one had sufficient strength, one must maintain restraint and forbearance!

On the Star-Observing Platform.

When they saw Lin Yunfei decisively order a halt to the pursuit, many who had originally been waiting to watch his downfall were stunned.

"This kid actually held back?" The mayor was somewhat surprised.

Had it been any other hot-blooded youth, faced with the massive temptation of slaying a Tier-2 giant beast, they would have likely committed their entire army without hesitation.

"Good! What a fine 'do not pursue a cornered enemy'!"

Sitting in his high-backed leather chair, Major General Lu Shuang of the Interstellar Expeditionary Army had a flash of admiration in his eyes!